It’s always a good day in the studio!
Day 5 #stradaeasel
This is a continuation exploring light with the Beige Tea Pot. I changed the background in preference to a higher contrast to the foreground subjects giving deeper shadows. Will continue with this one and push some of the color notes in the subject.
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| Unfinished Block in - NFS Beige Pot with Mum in Oil ©2023 |
Day 4 #stradaeasel
Finally working with this little tea pot. I had it for years thinking I'll put it in my paintings. I did these three little value drawing/sketches in soft charcoal to see it in different lighting sources - Top light, Room ambient light, Side light. Getting the value patterns was important, but a bit vague and very sketchy with the soft charcoal so I can easily brush it away before painting. I hope you can still get a sense of the light.
I usually paint with more dramatic color, but in this one the tea pot is beige with some darker markings, the backdrop is a greenish gray, and the flower is an artificial beige mum - so quite neutral without strong contrast.
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| Unfinished Sketches/Studies - NFS Beige Tea Pot with Mum ©2023 |
Day 3 #stradaeasel
I'm diligently working on ellipses - and related oval forms. It's getting a little better to see the actual shape of the oval - it's symmetrical of course, yet my eyes are not set perfectly so I'm learning to compensate; and my steadiness of hand will improve as I practice. Viewing things backwards in a mirror helps too - a lot!
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| Unfinished Block in - NFS Ruby Red Vase ©2023 |
#stradaeasel
Day 2 #stradaeasel
I have to ponder a bit about how I've been trained to paint fast-Alla Prima, but actually prefer a slower more methodical approach as in a Direct Approach with a few layers, but not the Classical or Indirect painting that is highly technical. I love all three, but my temperament is somewhere in the middle.
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| Unfinished Block in - NFS Dried Hydrangea in Gold and Brown Vase Oil on Canvas Sheet ©2023 |
My painting discipline has been waning for awhile now so going to start the new year 2023 with the January strada.easel challenge to get back on track. Strada runs this challenge a couple times per year and gives away 5 easels of choice via a random drawing from the qualifying participants. The ruless must be followed by registering, posting a painting each day of the month, January 1-31.
These posts will be short and used as a means to share and record the activity. Paintings and drawings may or may not be finished. I will also be posting on instagram at #studio.campagna .
If interested in their product, you can visit Strada Easel at this link.
Day 1 #stradeeasel - Hot Chocolate - block in:
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| Unfinished Block in - NFS Hot Chocolate 6x8 Oil on Raymar Canvas Panel ©2023 |
Pink Hydrangeas and Porcelain Cup - Intense Color
I grew up with Blue Hydrangeas and thought that was their only color. Things have changed, and Pink Hydrangeas seem to be leading the way lately. Went to my favorite nursery and could not find one blue version of the beautiful flower. I miss the blues, but decided to try pink. Such a warm painting will require a warm frame!
I love painting flowers, but they are one of the most challenging subjects because when you look close there is so much detail. The challenging part for me is editing the details. Since I'm not a hyper realism painter, I enjoy a looser style and prefer to suggest some things letting the viewer fill in with their perceptions while still keeping a bit more detail in the focal areas.
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| Pink Hydrangeas and Porcelain Cup 8 x 10 Oil Painting ©2020 |
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| BW - Pink Hydrangeas and Porcelain Cup 8 x 10 Oil Painting ©2020 |
Rose Tea Cup and Lilacs - Values
This little study took quite awhile to work out.
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| Rose Tea Cup and Lilacs ©2022 |
I didn't paint much through COVID-19 so my visual judgments were definitely interrupted. Even with more time to paint, isolation did nothing to help me as an oil painter. 'It' left me feeling paralyzed with fear to move forward.
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| Round Baby Blanket |
The good news is that I was able to crochet (since I could follow patterns, it meant fewer decisions) and I was finding tea drinking a pleasant experience. Eventually I decided to gather my courage and paint tea cups!
Well, the whole business of painting has so many facets that I felt somewhat overwhelmed like when I first began to study painting. I could not even decide on composition, but determined to work through it so it was back to basics.
The hierarchy of principles and concepts shifted moment to moment, then I finally settled on working with the values since that is usually what makes a painting most readable. Here's the grayscale version according to auto settings. I'm a bit encouraged to keep going.
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| B&W - Rose Tea Cup & Lilacs ©2022 |
